Of Our Spiritual Strivings Analysis

Our country is one supposedly based on fairness and equality; all citizens being treated with equal fairness. This is not the truth. Prejudice and inequality can be found in all societies today. People are not treated unfairly by others and, in return, treat others with the same unfairness. Most people, however unaware they may be, have been guilty of some form of prejudice. “Men call the shadow prejudice, and learnedly explain it as the natural defense of culture against barbarism, learning against ignorance, purity against crime” (p. 296). Citizens in our country today are not all treated equally. In the work place, for example, mean are usually given more opportunity than women. Men have a better chance of getting a promotion because women are stereotyped as letting their emotions, not their professional opinion, aide them in their decision making. Also, people are given less opportunity when they do not meet certain “qualifications”. Some
people are given greater responsibility because they know a certain person of higher ranking. Other people who work hard to get their job done and help others with their job are overlooked because someone else who is well known takes the credit that should have gone to the other person. “The facing of so vast a prejudice could not but bring the inevitable self-questioning, self-disparagement, and lowering of ideals which ever accompany repression and breed in an atmosphere of contempt and hate” (p. 296). People in all societies are prejudice against someone or something.
In “Of Our Spiritual Strivings”, WEB Du Bois talks about his dealings with prejudice based on race, but race is not the only contributing factor of discrimination. Someone can be discriminated against for not only their national origin, but also for their gender, their religion, or even their sexual orientation. People who are homosexual, for example, are persecuted for their lifestyle and are not allowed to marry a person of their choice. “A people thus handicapped ought not to be asked to race with the world, but rather allowed to give all its time and thought to its own social problems” (p. 296). Prejudice comes from all different types of people. From the extremely religious person who does not believe the homosexual person should be allowed to marry another person of the same gender to an independently wealthy person who thinks poorly of the man who works hard every day at his minimum wage job, all types of people are guilty of being
prejudice. Most people have been blameworthy of some form of prejudice against another. People do not even realize when they are judging another person unfairly. A person’s environment is a considerable contributor of how a person notices something or someone else. If a person’s coworkers or friends feel a certain way about something, then that person’s opinion is likely to be influenced by the people they are around daily. Also, if a person was raised by a parent or guardian who was prejudice, that person is prone to be prejudice against the same things and not even realized the grievance of what they are doing. There are also many different ways of being prejudice. The most recognized form of prejudice is blatant dislike for someone based on their race, religion, sexual orientation, etc., but stereotyping someone is also a form of prejudice. To judge someone unfairly before actually getting to know that person is not right, although it is a widely accepted act in our society today. There are many different forms of prejudice in the world today. Du Bois may be slightly outdated in the specific type of prejudice he is talking about, but his ideas are still very relevant in today’s societies. Examples of prejudice can be found everywhere and most people are guilty of this injustice towards others.